By Theodore Lainas

 

The scientific community is working feverishly in every field of science and technology, and the year that has just begun is expected to provide humanity with many important discoveries and achievements. Let's take a look at some of the most important science stations of 2023.

 

Vaccines

 

Following the successful development of mRNA vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic, many more are under development. BioNTech in Mainz, Germany, which pioneered coronavirus vaccines, is expected to begin first-in-human trials of mRNA vaccines against malaria, tuberculosis and genital herpes in the coming weeks. BioNTech is working with Pfizer to test an mRNA-based vaccine candidate to reduce the rate of shingles. Moderna in Cambridge, Mass., also has mRNA vaccine candidates for the viruses that cause genital herpes and shingles. Others are investigating the possibility of delivering vaccines for COVID-19 using rapid-acting nasal sprays. These sprays have been effective in animals, but the road to human trials may be long.

 

Astronomy 

 

The Euclid space telescope, built by the European Space Agency (ESA), is expected to launch this year and is intended to orbit the Sun for six years to take pictures that will help create a 3D map of the Universe and collect data that will illuminate cosmic mysteries such as the existence of dark matter. The Japan Space Agency's (JAXA) X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy mission is scheduled for launch in 2023, an Earth-orbiting satellite that will detect X-ray radiation from distant stars and galaxies.

 

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile is scheduled to begin taking images in July 2023. The telescope, which has a special three-mirror design and a camera containing more than three billion solid-state detector pixels, will be able to scan the entire southern sky in just three nights. And the world's largest steerable telescope--the Xinjiang Qitai Radio Telescope (QTT) in Xinjiang, China--will be activated. QTT's fully directional dish, spanning 110 meters, will allow it to observe 75% of the stars in the sky at any given time.

 

List of pandemics

 

The World Health Organization is expected to publish a revised list of priority pathogens. About 300 scientists will review data on more than 25 families of viruses and bacteria to identify pathogens that could potentially cause future pandemic outbreaks. Research and development roadmaps for each priority pathogen will outline knowledge gaps, set research priorities and guide the development of vaccines, treatments and diagnostic tests.

 

Gene therapies

 

A gene-editing therapy is expected to be approved for use next year following promising results from clinical trials that used the CRISPR-Cas9 method to treat beta-thalassemia and sickle cell disease, two genetic blood disorders. The treatment exagamglogene autotemcel (exa-cel) is being developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals in Boston and CRISPR Therapeutics in Massachusetts. It works by harvesting a person's stem cells and using CRISPR-Cas9 technology to edit out the faulty gene, before injecting the cells back into the person. Vertex is expected to apply to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in March for approval to make exa-cel available to people with beta-thalassemia or sickle cell disease.

 

Physics

 

Physicists revealed the first results of the Muong--2 experiment last April and are expected to publish more precise results in 2023. The experiment studies how short-lived particles known as muons behave in magnetic fields and creates a sensitive test of the Standard Model of particle physics.

 

The Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory in southern China will also begin looking for physics beyond the standard model, using a detector located 700 meters underground to precisely measure the oscillation of neutrinos--electrically neutral subatomic particles. Another highly anticipated event for particle physicists is the opening of the European Spallation Source (ESS) near the city of Lund, Sweden. The pan-European project will create intense neutron beams to study the structure of materials, using the most powerful proton linear accelerator ever built. ESS will welcome its first researchers in 2023.

 

Medicines

 

In January, US regulators will announce whether a drug that slowed the rate of cognitive decline in a powerful clinical trial can be made available to people with Alzheimer's disease. Developed by pharmaceutical company Eisai and biotech company Biogen, lecanemab is a monoclonal antibody that clears the amyloid-beta protein that accumulates in the brain. The clinical trial included 1,795 people with early-stage Alzheimer's and showed that lecanemab slowed mental decline by 27% compared to a placebo.

 

However, some scientists believe this is only a modest benefit, and others are concerned about the drug's safety. Another Alzheimer's drug called blarcamesin--developed by Anavex Life Sciences in New York--will continue to make its way through clinical trials. Blakamesin activates a protein that improves the stability of neurons and their ability to connect with each other.

 

Nuclear waste

 

The world's first nuclear waste storage facility is due to start operating in 2023 on Olkiluoto, an island off the southwest coast of Finland. The Finnish government approved the construction of the underground repository in 2015, for the safe disposal of spent nuclear fuel. Up to 6,500 tons of radioactive uranium will be packed into copper containers, which will be covered with clay and buried inside tunnels made of granite rock 400 meters underground. The nuclear material will remain sealed there for several hundred thousand year--until then the radiation levels will be harmless.